


Not all heroes wear capes

by Obiwana



Category: DCU
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, My first Multichapter, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Identity, clark really just should have more people to talk to
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2019-10-08 10:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17385155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obiwana/pseuds/Obiwana
Summary: Inspired by tumblr post about seeing numbers over people's heads to indicate danger level https://gloryseekingelf.tumblr.com/post/169502006543/dottydayedream-rainnecassidyPrudence Grove is about to start her first day at the Daily Planet, little does she know that her gift of seeing how dangerous people are is about to make her life a whole lot more complicated.Working title was "Prudence Grove and her Superbat adventure"*updates will be far between unless school allows time*





	1. Call Me Clark

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no idea what i'm doing all my knowledge of DC comes from reading way too much superbat, a Batman cartoon from when I was a kid, and Wonder Woman (2017). I just wanted to contribute to this fandom besides giving kudos. I hope I do the characters justice, enjoy!

Prudence was nervous to start her first day at the Daily Planet. She knew everything would probably be fine, it would probably be all grunt work because she was new. Still, she wrung her hands for a short while, nerves getting the best of her. There were so many reporters there that she looked up to, she had to make a good first impression. The numbers acting up were also not helping her stay calm. 

They were things that she had seen her whole life, only she could see see them. The numbers that appeared in front of people indicated, from what she could tell, how dangerous the person was; they seemed to be on a scale from 1-10. She was normally able to ignore them without it completely influencing her opinion of someone before they had even exchanged words, but as of late she was not able to look past them. Numbers as clear and solid as the people’s faces floated in her perceptions. They were larger, more opaque and saturated the closer to 10 they got. 

Prudence rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t be worried about the numbers right now. She had to focus on the fact that she would have to be at the Daily Planet soon to learn what she would be doing for her job. She grabbed her light jacket, in case there was oppressive air conditioning, and walked out of the cheap apartment she was staying in for the summer. She smiled at some of her neighbors, all of them 1's or 2's. If they were a danger to anyone they would likely only be a danger to themselves. Her power made living in the “bad” part of the city much less worrisome . There was no need to worry about anyone causing serious harm till about a 3, such as her landlord. 

She made her way to the subway, checking twice over that she was in fact getting on the right train. She started looking at the newspaper that the person across from her was engrossed in. The picture on the front page stared back at her. She didn’t think she would know anyone in a picture from the aftermath of a failed plot to kill Superman but a few had numbers. Prudence never understood that part of her ability. For some reason she had to see a person in person before she could know what their number was. It was just another nuisance of the whole thing. 

Before entering the Daily Planet, she took a deep breath in a fruitless final attempt to calm her nerves before starting her first day. After getting a quick rundown of the building and her responsibilities for her new job, Prudence somehow managed to get lost looking for the bathroom. She marked it up to nerves as she could normally find her way without getting so hopelessly lost. Prudence nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard someone cough behind her. 

She started apologizing before she even turned to see who it was, but the words stopped dead in her throat when all her vision was taken up by a large, completely opaque, 10. She paled as she blinked a couple times to try to get the number to back off so she could see who was behind it; it was a fairly meek looking man, despite the fact that physically he was very imposing. “Sorry, I was just looking for the bathroom,” she whispered, surprised she was even able to get the words out do to her surprise and fear of the 10 she was alone in the hall with. He looked familiar.

The man chuckled and seemed to purposely pull his shoulders into himself and make himself smaller as he adjusted his glasses, “That’s alright. I was just going to ask if you were lost ‘cause you looked a bit bewildered. My name is Clark by the way, I’m guessing you are new here?” He held out his hand for her to shake and she took it cautiously though she tried her best not to let it show. He had a remarkably weak handshake as if he was afraid of hurting her, though maybe that was just Prudence thinking to much into this because of the 10 that was still plastered across his form.

She realized that she had not answered his question. His name still sinking in she blinked a few more times. “Yeah. You are Clark Kent? The Clark Kent? Sorry it just not every day that I meet someone who has written so many articles, and so well, for such a wide variety of topics especially because you are just able to make it so easy to understand even if it is some pretty complex stuff that you spent so much time investigating and I’m rambling, yeah, I’m rambling I’m so sorry.” She blushed a bit as she closed her mouth and licked her lips anxiously, not exactly the best first impression on one of the people that made her want to get a job here at the Daily Planet in the first place but she can’t take it back now. She was too distracted by the fact now that she was in the presence of The Clark Kent to even pay notice to the 10 that was still present in her periphery. 

Clark chuckled and smiled good-naturedly, “Well it’s nice to know that I have a fan. If it’s the bathroom that you are looking for though you are heading the wrong way, its at the other end of the hall.” He shrugged in a way as if to say it was an easy mistake and she shouldn’t worry about it. She was put at ease by him till he started walking away and she couldn’t see his smile anymore and the 10 came back to the forefront. Prudence stood in the hall looking at where his back had been for what felt like minutes trying to think of how a man that timid could ever be a 10. As far as she knew that was where the scale of danger stopped so he was probably the most dangerous person she would ever meet. She turned and walked to the bathroom, her mind still whirring.

The rest of the day flew by now that, whenever there would have been a dull moment, she had the fact that Clark Kent was a 10 and how that was possible to mull over. By the time she got into bed that night the only thing she had come up with was that the information he was able to gather could be very dangerous. That of course didn’t cover why he would be a 10, normally people who collected dirt on others or information of the sort that Clark would have land themselves at about a 5 or 6. Maybe Clark had wandered into a story that was far more complicated and involved powerful people and is just keeping it to himself maybe that could make him that dangerous? The only other 10 that Prudence had ever encountered was someone who she didn’t even know she had seen before but had to have as when their picture showed up on the tv she had seen a little 10 hovering over their mugshot. The TV had said how they had been arrested for trying to sell government secrets they had acquired during their secret not so secret training for some branch of the military that apparently forgot to be named. So information and physical training were probably needed together, but Clark, he didn’t look the trained in combat type despite his obvious muscles.

She woke up the next morning not realizing that she had even fallen asleep the night before. She went to brush her teeth after breakfast before running off to the Planet but got stuck with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth staring in the mirror. Somehow overnight her standard 3 (something she assumed was only so high because of her ability because she was far from being physically dangerous) had become a 4. She blinked at the 4 above her head and then something made her look at the time, and it was good she had, as somehow she had lost almost ten minutes to studying her new number. 

She did her best to throw herself into the work she was given, trying not to think about what she possibly could have learned yesterday that made her more dangerous. She was so enthralled by the background research she was doing for a reporter whose name didn’t stick in her head that she didn’t even notice Clark’s approach. “If you stay focused like that you’ll make it far here, though be careful that you watch out for deadlines.” Prudence nearly jumped out of her skin when Clark spoke.

“Oh hi. Thanks?” she stammered when she saw it was Clark who had spoken. Somehow his 10 was less imposing this time, she must be getting things back under control again. “Do you need something, Mr. Kent?” her question not only asking if he needed something but if that is what she should call him. After her first impression yesterday she was unsure what to say around the man.

He smiled seeming almost a bit weary himself, though maybe that was only in Prudence’s imagination. “Oh no I don’t need anything right now, I just realized that I never got your name yesterday and if I am going to have you helping me with any of my stories I would like to at least try to learn your name first.” He shrugged, seeming like he was a bit unsure of himself, “to be honest I also wanted to check in with you because yesterday you looked terrified when you first saw me and I wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

Prudence nodded mouth slightly agape trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make her sound crazy to this apparently normal man. “My name is Prudence. Um, Prudence Grove.” She stopped there not knowing how to say that Clark was the most dangerous person she had ever met without saying that or having to explain how she knew. She decided to deflect instead, “you never said yesterday what to call you, I’m a bit at a loss for how formal I should be with everyone here.”

He narrowed his eyes a bit, seeming to notice that she had not answered his second question. She could see for a split second how he could be dangerous when he decided he wanted to find the truth behind something. He smiled slightly as if deciding that he wasn’t going to press her about not answering “Well Prudence, you can just call me Clark though I can’t speak for anyone else's preference.”

Prudence nodded her confirmation, smiling up at the conundrum of a man that Clark Kent was.


	2. A Diana Girl

It was about a month after her first day when Bruce Wayne first made a personal visit to the Planet. Prudence didn’t think much of it, Brucie Wayne may own the Planet but it seemed like he wasn’t actually involved besides from the profits. She still wanted to see him in person, just to be able to say she had. No matter her personal opinion of the playboy he would probably be the most famous person she would ever lay eyes on and that was something. 

Prudence was getting water and exchanging some friendly words with Lois Lane when Bruce walked in with a woman on his arm. She almost broke the mug she was using for water when she saw them both. Not only was Brucie Wayne a 10, a man that was gossiped to not carry much in his head, the woman on his arm was an overwhelming 11. Prudence couldn’t keep her mouth from hanging open, what in god's name could this woman do or know that would make her an 11? Her beauty might contribute, Prudence had never seen a woman quite that beautiful, though she did think that all girls were beautiful, but would beauty really break the danger scale? “She has to be a goddess.” Prudence didn’t even realize she had whispered that till Lois hummed in agreement. 

“What are you two staring at?” Clark had an uncanny ability to come over unheard when Prudence was having issues with her ability, it made her wonder if in this time of aliens, superheroes and meta-humans if Clark was that kind of special too. 

Thankfully Lois took charge of the conversation with her friend, “oh nothing much Clark just that absolute bombshell, or as Prudence aptly put, that goddess, that Bruce brought with him.” Clark appeared to blanch a bit when Lois called the mystery woman a goddess and turned slightly towards Prudence but it passed so quickly Prudence didn’t know if she had seen it even in the first place. “I think I have seen her before, do you know who she is?”

Clark took a moment to respond, Prudence tried to casually watch Clark, Bruce, and the woman, though she doubted she was succeeding. There was definitely something connecting them, even if it was just their numbers. She still was uneasy about having one 10 in the room, let alone three of them. “Her name is Diana Prince, I think she works at the Louvre. You probably met her covering a story.” 

The name Diana caught something in Prudence’s memory though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Bruce and Diana were walking around as if he was showing her how the Daily Planet ran, though Prudence couldn’t hear what he was saying. They were quickly moving towards Lois, Clark, and Prudence in their tour. “And if you look this way Ms. Prince-- Oh Clark just who I was looking for!” Prudence was caught a bit off guard from the smile that was plastered on Bruce Wayne’s face, it probably wouldn’t have looked fake if there hadn’t been a 10 calmly floating above his head. If she was thankful for nothing else, working with Clark had given her time to figure out how to control the numbers more reliably. 

Bruce clapped Clark on the back and his hand seemed to linger a bit on Clark’s back than necessary--and was Clark leaning into the touch? “Come, bring your help too, Diana has a story and I want you to cover it.”

Bruce, Diana, and Clark started walking off in the direction of one of the conference rooms when Lois poked Prudence in the side, “Pretty sure when he said ‘your help’ he meant you.” When Prudence still didn’t move right away Lois gave her a little nudge. She just caught up as the door to the room they entered started to close. She followed everyone else's lead and sat down in one of the chairs in the room.

Prudence tried her best to pay attention to what was being said but there was almost a hum of the word eleven coming from Diana she was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of danger that was in the room with her. She didn't understand how it was possible, from the way the three of them were interacting they all seemed like they should be 6 maybe for Clark 7 given that he definitely had a lot of muscle under that cheap suit. Maybe a 7 for Diana too, her looks along with those thighs that looked like they could squeeze a man to death could be a force to be reckoned with.

She somehow had been taking notes haphazardly despite her distracted thoughts so when all attention in the room was on her she wasn’t completely unaware of what was going on but still had to mutter, “Sorry, what?”

“Do you think you are up to the job?” Bruce had lost his airy voice at some point while talking but Prudence’s split attention didn’t allow her to figure out when. 

She swallowed deeply and nodded, “Um, I think so sir,” not quite knowing what it was that she just signed herself up for. Bruce nodded back and the change, while subtle, brought the public persona back; she wondered what exactly he could be protecting by acting so airy in front of other people and why he had dropped that in front of her.

After Bruce and Diana left the room something in the grace of Diana’s form and movement caught Prudence’s eyes and struck a memory. “She is a goddess.”

“Sorry what?” Clark looked over at her with an indiscernible emotion. “Is she why you weren’t really paying attention?”

Prudence blushed, maybe she had been looking at Diana once too often, but what with the constant whispering reminder of Diana’s power and how intimidating her physical beauty was Prudence had trouble keeping her attention away from her. “Um, well there was a goddess, a Roman goddess, named Diana. I think she was the goddess of the hunt? Maybe the moon too but I'm not sure if she and Artemis are the same. Um, but yeah she lives up to the name. I have never seen a more beautiful and intimidating woman. I would definitely become one of Artemis’s hunters if Diana asked.” She couldn’t look at Clark after and blushed more deeply, what if he had heard between the lines in her last accidental admission.

Clark lightly chuckled. “I would have pegged you for more of a Bruce girl but,” His tone as he tapered off made it obvious what the implication of the not placed question was, though there was no ill will in it. 

“Ah, yeah, I’m more of a Diana girl.” Prudence looked over at Clark through the corner of her eye as he sighed softly. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow, still not knowing what she was allowed to ask, but he was looking almost longingly through the door. Was she reading him right? Had that lingering touch between Bruce and Clark earlier really happened? Was she just projecting, hoping to have someone to talk to about being queer, if only in the gay way?

Clark licked his lips as if he was thinking of what to say, still looking at the door Bruce and Diana left through. “You keep it a secret?” He was quiet when he asked and his posture was trying to not give anything away.

“I don’t say anything outright unless people ask. Most don’t ask. Not quite out and proud, ya know?” Prudence eyed Clark, trying to gauge his reaction. “Don’t go advertising it, yeah?”

Clark looked over at her and bit his lip, opening his mouth twice before speaking. “As long as you promise to do the same?” 

Prudence was a bit taken aback by his admission, not expecting it, but nodded quickly in response, “Of course.” 

Clark’s shoulders relaxed visibly and he stood up. Prudence rubbed her palms on her pants before making to follow. “You are the only one who I have really told, just so you know.” She stopped glad she hadn’t stood quite yet as the weight of that admission would have made it difficult to stay standing. 

“Oh.” Prudence paused, unsure of what to do with the knowledge that she was Clark’s sole confidant. “Uh, if you ever need someone to talk to I would be happy to? I mean I’m not really an expert on guys or anything, obviously.” She tapered off, Clark smiled softly and nodded; he seemed to appreciate the gesture even with its lacking execution.

Clark cleared his throat, “Right well, we had better start on this story yeah? I’ll fill you in on whatever you missed while you were too distracted by Diana’s charm.” He smiled and walked out of the room as Prudence followed.


	3. I Think You Can Hear Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well sorry for that huge break in posting this, 8 months is a long time to wait for a chapter I know. I am hoping to have closer to only 1 month gaps now. Thank you for reading!

Prudence was still surprised some mornings when she saw the 4 in the mirror. She still wasn’t quite sure what it was that she stumbled across at the Daily Planet that would have made her more dangerous but she had mostly accepted it by this point. She had been enjoying her work there more than she thought she would, being assigned to help Clark made her days so much more interesting. She was surprised when she was asked by Lois to quick look something up (“if you are good enough to help Clark you are good enough to help me”) for her more fluff peace about how Superman had helped a kitten or something.

Prudence had forgotten what she was supposed to be looking up because the picture of Superman’s smiling face had a large dark 10 over it. At some point in time since starting at the Planet she had seen Superman, but she didn’t remember that at all. She wracked her brain for when she possibly could have seen a caped alien and not remembered it when Lois had interrupted her train of thought saying never-mind, that she had found what she was looking for. Prudence nodded and turned back to Clark to ask him what she should do now when his 10 stuck out to her.

She looked from the picture of Superman to Clark and back to Superman. They did share remarkably similar features. Scratch similar, they had the same face, well, besides the glasses. Prudence sat just comparing the two until Clark looked up saw what she was looking at and his face drained of color. Prudence wasn’t sure what to do, the resemblance was uncanny and it made the 10 Clark sported make a lot more sense. With that thought she saw her reflection in the window, her number ticked up from a 4 to a 5. So, it was true.

She opened her mouth, considering saying something before remembering that they were in a room full of journalists. She needed to say something though, Clark, Superman, looked like he knew she suspected him and she had to defuse that tension. Her head swam trying to figure out what would stop him from looking so scared. “Hey Clark, have you ever considered dressing up as Superman for Halloween? I think you really could pull it off.” She gave herself credit for thinking of it quickly but she definitely could have done better.

Clark smiled, something about it didn’t look quite natural. “You think so? I think the glasses would ruin it.”

Prudence shrugged, “yeah I guess you’re right. Would be kinda frivolous to get contacts for just one day. Still, I think my point stands.”

Prudence did her best to keep busy for the rest of the day at work, she couldn’t afford to be distracted thinking about how to really talk to Clark about this. She blew some hair out of her eyes as she walked out of the front doors of the Planet. Now, she could think.

Clark had trusted her with a secret of his before, though a much more terrestrial one. She had trusted him with her secret in kind, she would even think to call Clark a friend of hers. She knew he was superman, so it would only be fair for her to return the secret and let him know how she found out, right? The thought made her heart skip a beat, she hadn’t told anyone about the numbers in years. The only person Prudence had told outside her parents, well, she had thought that a relationship of five years would have been secure enough. If anyone could understand something strange like this though, an alien would probably be one.

It was very odd to think of Clark as an alien. She knew that Superman was an alien and that Clark was Superman, yet there was a part of her having a hard time wrapping her head around the concept of her friend not being, well, human. Prudence sighed, he handled her other secret well, she could trust him with the numbers too. She hoped.

She flopped onto her bed when she made it back into her apartment. She put a hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat and trying to slow it down. “Hey Clark, Superman, from what I understand I think you can hear me talking now. I think I need to talk to you.” Prudence paused, “God, I feel like an idiot. I have no idea if you can actually hear me, and even if you can I have no way of knowing if you’re listening. Right, well, I am going to go to work really early tomorrow and leave you a note on your desk in case you can’t hear this I guess. I’ll just wait for you on the roof. Probably will get there around like 5:30 ‘cause I am anxious so I wont sleep well. I hope I see you there.”

Prudence exhaled through pursed lips, there was no going back now. She sat up and started writing with fervor, if she was going to try to tell someone else about her power she wanted to try to do it right. After the fifth scraped explanation she groaned and leaned sideways hitting her head on the wall. This might not go as well as she hoped.


	4. Coming Out Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> doing much better on the update frequency this time I think :p
> 
> hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Prudence closed her eyes, leaning back against the halfwall of the roof, feeling the light from the rising sun kiss her skin. She had left a note on Clark’s desk (come meet me on the roof, it’s super important) hoping that he would get the message if he hadn’t heard her last night. She listened to the wind in her ears, appreciating the beauty of the city at sunrise. Her heart beat wildly in her chest despite the calm aura the city was projecting. “I really hope he understands.” 

“I hope so too.” Superman landed softly on the roof his cape fluttering in the wind. There was no doubt in Prudence’s mind now why he was a 10, the presence he brought with him, the confidence and otherworldliness that made her distinctly aware that he could easily kill her if he wished. She surprised herself with how calm she still was, even with that thought. She breathed deeply, it’s just Clark she reminded herself.

“I tried to write this out last night. I couldn’t get it to sound like I wasn’t crazy.” She wet her lips. “I am just going to call you Superman for ease on my brain. That’s ok, right?” It felt like she might have been borrowing a heart from a rabbit it was beating so fast.

Superman’s eyes narrowed slightly, “What else would you call me?”

Prudence shook her head, “Don’t try to play dumb with me Clark.” Her breath came slowly, worried for a second that she had been wrong, before she saw a subtle shift in his stance. Her vision shifted between seeing Clark and Superman, never able to see both at the same time.

“How did you figure it out? You haven’t been around long enough to notice we have never been in the same room.”

“It’s ‘cause you were both 10’s”

Superman’s eyebrow raised and Prudence realized the lack of context for the statement. “From what I know of you Ms. Grove, I am surprised and honored that you would consider me a ten after having seen Diana.”

Prudence suppressed a grin, “While I appreciate the gay joke, that actually is not at all what I meant.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to suppress the feeling of vulnerability that came with ‘coming out’ again. “Every person I see has a number attached to them, on a scale from 1 to 10 indicating how dangerous they are. You were the first 10 I had ever been in close proximity to, that’s why I was so scared the first time we met. Not every day I meet one of the most dangerous people in the world. I spent a lot of time thinking about how you could be so dangerous, Clark Kent is rather mild mannered for a 10.

“It didn’t click that you two were one in the same till yesterday. See, I can’t just look at a photo of a person and know their number, I have to see them first, like in person. So, I can often see people’s numbers, as I pass many people on the street, but well, Superman? Seeing Superman is something I’m pretty sure I would have remembered. Unless, of course, he wasn’t Superman at the time. And as you are both 10s and look the same,” Prudence shrugged not sure what else to say and looked into Superman’s face. “Does that make any sense?”

Superman smiled and shook his head, “I guess it makes about as much sense as Wonder Woman being made from clay.” He chuckled at Prudence’s questioning look but sobered quickly. “You are going to be in a lot more danger now that you know.”

Prudence hummed in agreement and looked out across the city, “Yeah, I’m also more dangerous now that I know.” She looked back at Superman, “guess I should probably start working out now, huh?”

“Oh? Do you plan on getting into trouble?”

“Well, if I’m going to be in danger I should probably learn to dodge, and if I’m going to be this dangerous I should probably learn to fight. Just in case.” Prudence smiled weakly up at Superman, “You are the only one who knows about the numbers besides my parents and my ex. I, uh, Clar--Superman, well I have never had the privilege of having someone to talk to about the numbers. Would you mind if-” She sighed. “You know that I’m not exactly the most out and proud person already and the numbers, that isn’t exactly something that I can yell from the rooftops either and I just-” Prudence stomped her foot, “words should not be this hard to say.”

Superman drifted closer, “I could bring Chinese food or something over tonight?”

Prudence smiled up at Superman, “Chinese would be good. I like the sweet and sour stuff?” Superman nodded and smiled back. “Thank you.”

“Of course. What are friends for? Speaking of friends though, I believe Clark might still have a note on his desk that he would appreciate others not finding,” And with that Superman took a step back smiled and flew off.

Prudence smiled as she left the roof; that went much better than she thought it would. She picked the note up off of Clark’s desk and put it in her pocket. Sitting in a chair she looked up at the ceiling, she was friends with Superman. She closed her eyes and sighed, more than that, she had a friend who might be able to understand.


End file.
